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The world of Stardew Valley is expansive – a normal playthrough of the game can easily take 100 hours to "complete", even without experiencing everything in the game. There comes a point in every Stardew Valley playthrough, though, when there just doesn't feel like there is anything new to do. The Stardew Valley Expanded mod changes this.

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Stardew Valley Expanded adds a huge amount of new content to the game, effectively serving as both an expansion and an overhaul of the original Stardew Valley experience. Before modding the game, though, be sure to back up any established worlds already saved - especially if the game is not being launched through Steam.

Updated December 12, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Stardew Valley Expanded is as impressive a mod as ever, even in the face of the huge 1.5 update for Stardew Valley that was released this past year. It adds a huge amount of content, all of which changes the way the game is experienced from the very outset like with new events, NPCs, and even item interactions. One of the best parts of Stardew Valley's community is its modding scene, which is still dedicated to the game all these years after its initial release. If you're thinking about going back to Stardew Valley, consider installing SVE, because after all, what is Stardew Valley Expanded but an expansion-sized love letter to one of the most impressive indie titles ever made?

10 Installing Stardew Valley Expanded

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Farm

To install Stardew Valley Expanded, one can take two routes: installing the SVE Modpack through moddrop.com or installing each component separately. The SVE Modpack is the easier of the two to install as it already contains everything needed to get the mod up and running, though it does require the use of their specialty launcher.

Installing each component separately can allow for more customization if the player knows what they are doing. The nine required components are listed on its Nexus Mods page, and must each be loaded before the main Stardew Valley Expanded files in your mod loader of choice (a good option most mods are compatible with is SMAPI)

9 The Mod Adds New NPCs, Some Of Whom Can Be Married...

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Claire NPC

Stardew Valley Expanded changes a lot about the game, including the addition of 25 new interactive NPCs. Some of these NPCs are familiar, previously non-interactive NPCs already present in the game, such as Marlon, Claire, and Morris, though the mod also adds plenty of fresh faces too.

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Olivia and Victor are among the new characters players can find in Pelican Town, who live in a new house near Pierre's, just two of dozens of others around the valley. Most of these NPCs can receive gifts and build relationships, though some, like Camilla the Witch and the Adventurer's Guild member Alesia, are not.

8 ...And It Adds Other Farmers To Stardew Valley Too

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Sophia Farmer

In addition to new families in Pelican Town and mysterious new allies from afar are several new competitor farmers in the outlying regions of the town. Sophia owns Blue Moon Vineyard just south of town, Andy runs the Fairhaven Farm in Cindersap Forest, and Susan runs the Emerald Farm near the Railroad.

While Sophia is a marriage candidate, Andy and Susan are not. Each of the competitors has their own unique events and personality, as well as a unique export for their farm. They add a sense of competition to the game, even though they have virtually no effect on the player's ability to succeed.

7 The Mod Adds A Variety Of Monsters...

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Frog Item

Stardew Valley Expanded adds six new monsters, each of which is found in the later stages of the game. These new monsters are not to be trifled with, although being located chiefly in the Crimson Badlands area makes them out of the way, hard to run across accidentally.

  • Apophis (BOSS): Found in Crimson Badlands. Drops Void Shards, Void Essences, and Spicy Eels
  • Badlands Serpent: Found in Crimson Badlands. Drops Void Essences, Bombs, Spicy Eels, Diamonds, Rabbits Feet, and Prismatic Shards
  • Corrupt Mummy: Found in Crimson Badlands and Iridium Quarry. Drops Void Essences
  • Corrupt Serpent: Found in Crimson Badlands. Drops Void Shards and Spicy Eels
  • Corrupt Spirit: Found in Iridium Quarry. Drops Void Pebbles and Solar Essences
  • Fallen Adventurer: Found in Crimson Badlands. Drops Rusty Blades and Void Essences

Each of these new monsters has at least 400 health – except the Apophis which has an incredibly steep 12,500, essentially making it unkillable except by the most determined players. Apophis only spawns once per day, and is made up of multiple segments. One of the more disturbing new enemies in the game has to be the Fallen Adventurer, a human-like foe in the Crimson Badlands.

6 ...And New Items and Other Loot, Too

Stardew-Valley-Infinity-Dagger

Stardew Valley Expanded also adds three new weapons and dozens of new consumables, craftables, and even fish to catch. The mod changes how some already-existing weapons work, tweaking and updating them for ease of use and balance.

Some of the rarer new items are only found through unique in-game events. The Tempered Galaxy weapons, for example, can only be bought from the Adventurer's Guild in Castle Village Outpost, a new late-game area.

5 It Comes With A Pre-Made Extended Farm Layout

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Premade Farm

The creator of Stardew Valley Expanded recommends in the mod's Nexus page to install a Farm Map titled "Immersive Farm 2 Remastered". The new map is a gigantic farmstead, with easy access to several new locations in the game as well as more than three times the farming space.

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The map comes in two varieties, one without any debris and one with. Both maps have blocked sections that farmers will naturally unlock through in-game progression – for example, a large boulder and tree blocks the entrance to a crossroads to the East. The one without debris, though, makes resource-gathering a bit trickier as players won't have wood or stone on the farm.

4 Hundreds Of New Events

Stardew Valley Doll Event

Each of the new NPCs added to the game has a string of custom events and unique relationship progression. The mod also revamps old cutscenes and changes the relationship progression of virtually every NPC in the game. New weather events, world events, and unique events are also found throughout – all with their own custom dialogue and cutscenes.

Stardew Valley Expanded is a truly ambitious project, evident in these new interactions spread all throughout the game. From the very beginning of the game to the end the game has been altered and updated, which helps to keep it feeling fresh with every new farm.

3 Two New Holidays

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Events Festivals

There are two new holidays in Stardew Valley Expanded - a revamped Spirit's Eve and Community Day. Spirit's Eve happens on the 27th of Fall each year, and now includes a "deadly" maze with better rewards. Community Day is a monthly exhibition of the town in the Community Center that starts once the Farmer has completed its renovation.

Spirit's Eve is an obvious reference to Halloween, but the original version of the holiday in Stardew Valley was a bit lackluster. The Stardew Valley Revamped version adds The Pumpkin King, monsters to the maze, and a chest containing a variety of goodies. Community Day is a great time to go around and talk to the locals, as it has unique dialogue throughout.

2 Countless New Descriptions And Interactions

Stardew Valley Winter Sculptures

In addition to the complete overhaul of the game's events and cutscenes, Stardew Valley Expanded also vastly increases the number of items that can be interacted with out in the world. In the normal version of Stardew Valley, there are plenty of unique text boxes that pop up when interacting with objects in the scenery, like when looking at a painting or on a NPC's table.

Stardew Valley Expanded both adds new background items to liven up Pelican Town and gives existing scenery items new descriptions. Stardew Valley feels more tangible when players can find out more about the world around them, and Stardew Valley Expanded lets players satisfy that curiosity.

1 New Locations, And Revamped Old Ones, Are Included Too

Stardew Valley Expanded Mod Locations

There are dozens of new locations added in this mod, including several new houses, new farms and farmers, explorable areas that were previously unexplorable, and so much more. There's even the ability to travel to a completely new continent – the Galdoran continent – where the player will find Castle Village and the Crimson Badlands.

Stardew Valley Expanded is much more than an overhaul; it more than doubles the explorable zones of the game and easily triples the time spent in a normal playthrough. Plus, it's compatible with a ton of other handy mods that have special SVE versions – just make sure the two mods don't overlap on important info and remember to back up saves!

Stardew Valley Expanded is only available for PC

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